All's Fair In Love and Friendship
by Deadly Poppy
Summary: He was fourteen when he first saw her. She was one. At the time, she was just Sirius's cousin, and he was just Sirius's friend. Of course, no one knew then how they would grow up and fall in love. They wouldn't know that for a long time.
1. Nymphadora

**Remus was fourteen when he first met her. She was one.**

**She was adorable, of course. There was nothing wrong in his thinking that, however, as babies are adorable to almost anyone. She was also very funny. Her hair turned from pink to purple to blue to green and back to pink in a matter of moments. It was as though she couldn't decide what her true hair color was.**

"**Siri!" she cried with joy as she held her arms up to the only cousin she liked. Even at a young age she had learned that her family, aside from her parents and cousin Sirius, did not show affection, and rarely even acknowledged her existence.**

**Sirius laughed and picked her up. Somehow the prankster/daredevil/tough guy image he had didn't seem to work holding a baby.**

**Remus laughed. She was no more special to him than she was to James or Peter. He had no connection to the Animophmagus his best friend was holding.**

"**So, why are we spending the holidays at your Aunt Andromeda's house?" James asked.**

**Sirius shrugged. "Said she needed me here. Her and Ted have something to do. Apparently it's some big secret. They must have been pretty desperate if they were willing to let three teenage boys babysit. Four if Peter didn't have to go home for Christmas."**

**James and Remus laughed, digging into a plate of cauldron cakes that James' mother had insisted he bring to thank Andromeda for her hospitality.**

**Two weeks later, Remus was back at Hogwarts, Nymphadora Tonks just a vague memory amidst exams, pranks, and girls.**


	2. Nymphie

"Remus!"

Remus Lupin, now sixteen, turned around. The voice wasn't familiar, and neither was the tiny girl screeching as she ran toward him.

"Remus!" she screeched again, and hit memory was refreshed as her hair suddenly turned bubblegum pink, the electric blue.

"Oh, er, Nymphadora."

She stopped mid-run. "That is NOT my name," she told him matter-of-factly. "My name is Nymphie."

Remus laughed. "Well, _Nymphie_, where are your parents?"

A wicked grin took over Nymphadora's face. "Oh, _they_ aren't here right now." She beckoned me closer with a stubby little finger. "I runned away," she whispered loudly to me.

I groaned. "Nymphador-I mean, _Nymphie_, why did you run away?"

"I went to get ice-cream!" she squealed, her hair turning a bright shade of violet.

Remus looked around, as if hoping the muggle art museum they were both standing outside of would offer some answer.

"And how did you get _here_?"

She grinned evilly again. "I got in the back of the ice-cream truck."

Remus couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Okay, tell you what: I'll buy you some ice-cream if you let me take you home. Okay?"

Nymphadora squealed again. "Yes!" she cried triumphantly.

Remus picked her up and started walking, trying to get Nymphadora to tell him where she lived, to which her answer was, "At my house, silly!"

"Remus?" a surprised voice asked. Lupin turned around to find himself looking into the eyes of Lily Evans.

"Oh, Lily," he said.

"Hi!" Nymphadora shrieked, right into Remus's ear.

"Oh, yeah, this is Nymphadora-" ("Ahem!") "-Sorry, I mean, this is Nymphie."

"Oh, so you're Nymphadora!" Lily cried, sounding relieved. "Your parents have been looking everywhere for you!"

"How do you know Andromeda?" Remus asked Lily, surprised.

"How do _you_ know Andromeda?" Lily responded.

"She's Sirius's aunt."

Lily's eyes nearly fell out of her head. "_Sirius_ is related to Andromeda?"

Remus nodded. "Now, answer my question. How do you know Andromeda?"

"None of your business," Lily said a little too quickly. "Now give me Nymphadora so I can take her home."

Remus tried to put Nymphadora down, but she screamed, "No! My name is not Nymphadora! I want Remus!"

Looking a little smug, Remus shrugged. "Guess I'll have to go with you."

"Guess you will," Lily said coolly.

Fifteen minutes later, Remus was standing on a vaguely familiar doorstep.

"Nymphadora!" Andromeda cried, hugging her daughter fiercly. "And Remus, what a wonderful surprise! Have you joined the Order as well?"

"The Order?" Remus asked as Lily tried to shush Andromeda.

"Oh, never mind!" she said hurriedly, trying to cover up her little slip.

"What's the Order?" Remus repeated.

And so it was that Remus Lupin joined the Order of the Phoenix.


	3. Nym

"Our first real Order meeting!" Lily squealed to James and Remus. "Isn't it exciting?"

She was strategically ignoring Peter and Sirius. She'd always like Remus, who she felt was much to smart to hang out with the other Marauders, and James she had begun warming up to the year prior, and was now dating. Peter, however, she'd always found a bit suspicious, and as for Sirius, well, Lily was still trying to find the word for the male equivalent of a slut.

"Yeah," James said, mostly just happy to be holding Lily's hand.

"I can't believe we're adults now," Remus mused. "Finished with school, free to live our lives as we please."

Sirius shrugged. "All I know is that I'm never again setting foot in number 12 Grimmauld Place again. Ever," he added for emphasis.

"Of course not," Lily snorted. "You'll probably get arrested for male prostitution and spend the rest of your life in jail."

Sirius couldn't think of a response to that besides "Nuh-uh!" which didn't seem very mature, so he settled for sticking his tongue out at her.

And then they were in front of Andromeda's house, facing a slit in the door much like a mail slot but higher, which Mad-Eye's eyes were peeking out of.

"Password," he said gruffly.

"Mad-Eye, no one told us a password," James told him, confused.

"Fine," he grumbled, obviously upset over the lack of a password. "What does your Patronus turn into?"

"A stag," James said, annoyed.

"You can go in." The door opened, but closed as soon as James was inside.

"Hey!" everyone else cried.

"What is your muggle address," he asked Lily, who rolled her eyes.

"121 Effervescent Lane."** (AN: I know it sounds stupid, I made it up on the spot)**

"And what aws the exact insult you used to describe your brother when we last spoke?" he questioned Sirius.

"I called him a buggar with the temper of a Hippogriff and the face of a toad," Sirius said lazily.

"And what is your code name for your condition?" Mad-Eye inquired of Remus.

"My 'Furry Little Problem'."

"And you!" he barked at Peter, who looked like he might wet his pants. "What-

"Never mind!" Peter squealed. "I think I'll just meet you all back at your house!"

But Mad-Eye grabbed him by the shirt collar and dragged him inside, muttering, "Stupid boy knows too much already."

*********

"Siri!" cried Nymphadora. She was now four and at the moment had bubblegum pink-scratch that-neon green hair and purple eyes.

"Hi Nymphie!" he said, patting her on the head.

"My name it NOT Nymphie!" she fumed. "It's Nym!"

"Hey Nym," Remus said.

"REMUS!" she shrieked. "Hi Remus! Look what I can do!" And her tiny nose turned into a pig's snout, then something resembling a bird's beak, then a long, gnarled nose that that of a with from Muggle fairytales. She giggled in delight. Isn't is cool?" she asked him, turning her nose back to what he assumed was her normal one.

"Very cool," he told her, laughing.

"Nymphadora," Andromeda said, earning her an annoyed _Harrumph! _from Nym, as she chose to call herself. "Why don't you go in your room and play while we all talk."

"Can Remus come with me?" she asked, her face pleading.

Andromeda gave Remus a pleading look that very clearly said, 'Will you please just keep her occupied for a little while?' Remus, ever the people pleaser, just nodded.

"Yay!" Nymphadora shrieked, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him quickly in her room.

But not quickly enough for him to miss Sirius saying, "And that will be the only girl who ever asks Remus up to her room," earning him a swat on the head from both Andromeda and Lily.


	4. Dora

And now we skip forward a few uneventful years, stopping to land on the day before Nymphadora leaves for Hogwarts. Remus has been in the Order of the Phoenix for quite some time now.

"Remus!" Nymphadora Tonks cried when she saw him in the doorway. She was now eleven, and he was twenty-four. "Remus I'm going to Hogwarts tomorrow!"

"Really?" Remus asked, feigning shock. As it happened, Andromeda had asked Sirius and Remus to come over, as they (Remus actually) were the only ones she might settle down for.

"That child has just got too much energy!" Andromeda had said. "And Ted won't be back for hours. Could you please just make sure she doesn't destroy the house while I go to the store?"

Remus nodded, thinking how it was funny that Andromeda seemed much worried about Nymphadora as an eleven-year-old destroying the house than she did when she first learned to walk.

Seeing that Sirius would be of no help to him, Remus asked him if he'd like to go over to Lily and James's.

"James is just itching to get out, you know, but of course he can't."

Sirius nodded solemnly and vowed to keep his best friend company.

"Nym?" Remus called, realizing the energetic child had already managed to disappear.

"Oh, I'm not Nym anymore," she said with a flick of her wrist, appearing on the stairs. "I'm now Dora."

"Dora?" he asked, making sure.

"Yeah-huh. And I'm not going to change it again."

Somehow Remus doubted that.

*********

"I hope I'm in Gryffindor!" Dora squealed at Remus, who was sitting on the couch while she told him every single reason she was excited to be going to Hogwarts, with lots of arm-flailing and grinning. "Just like you!"

Remus laughed. He found it somewhat amusing that he was something of a role model for Nymphadora.

"And I'll get to eat in the Great Hall, and have actual teachers, and play Quidditch…"

Remus tried to imagine the spunky, clumsy little girl playing Quidditch, but all he saw was her falling off a broomstick.

"And there will be boys," she concluded solemnly.

Remus had to pretend to choke to hide his laughter. Then he noticed something. Nymphadora had gone suddenly quiet.

"Dora?" he asked worriedly. "You alright?"

"Remus, am I pretty?" she asked worriedly. "I mean, I could change my hair," at this her hair was purple. "Or should I leave it natural?" it turned brown. "Or really crazy?" Neon pink. "What about my eyes?" She flicked through a wide range of eye colors.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Remus said, worriedly that she was going to make herself dizzy. "Of course you're pretty."

Nymphadora snorted. "You're practically family," she informed him. "You _have_ to say that."

And then she ran up the stairs, muttering something about her outfit for the train the next day.


	5. Still Dora

There was cheering in the halls, although only the older students really understood what had happened. Classes were canceled, and students were allowed to go home to their families for the remaining month and a half until Christmas Holiday.

When Nymphadora got to King's Cross Station, her mother was crying.

"Mummy?" Nymphadora asked. "Aren't we all supposed to be happy?"

Andromeda looked down at her daughter. "Yes, Dora," she said softly. "Yes we are."

"Then why are you crying?" she asked, a lump rising in her throat.

"Do you remember Lily and James?"

Nymphadora nodded, praying her mother wouldn't say the words she knew were inevitable.

"They died."

"No!" Nymphadora shrieked. "No they can't have! What about Sirius, is he alright?"

At this, Andromeda sobbed louder. "Oh Dora!" she cried. "It was him! He's joined the Dark Lord. He's in Azkaban now!"

Nymphadora sobbed as she hugged her mother. She cried for Sirius, and for Lily and James, and for little baby Harry, whom she'd only met once. And she cried for Remus, who must have felt so alone.

*********

"Remus?" Nymphadora called, sounding smaller than Remus had ever heard her.

No reply.

"Remus, I know you're in here," she called again. "Fine," she said, turning the light on and sitting down on his old grey couch. "I'll wait out here."

Remus remained in his room, praying she would go away. He didn't want to have to pretend to be happy. He didn't want to have to put on a brave face for Nymphadora Tonks.

But minutes melted into hours, and soon it was very late indeed, and Nymphadora was still sitting stubbornly on the couch. Finally, with a groan, Remus got out of bed and shuffled out into the living room, sitting next to her.

Neither of them said anything for what seemed to be a long time, but really was probably only a few minutes.

"You haven't eaten anything," the little girl said. It wasn't a question.

So she got up, walked over to his 'kitchen' (if you could call it that, being only a very small area with a stove, a sink, and a fridge), and began pulling out random bits of food.

"You haven't got anything to make dinner with!" she exclaimed, pointing at him.

He didn't respond.

"You'll just have to come to my house then," she added decisively.

*********

Remus stayed with Nymphadora's family for two weeks. Then it was nearly time for the full moon.

"You can't go, Remus," Andromeda insisted. "You don't have to be ashamed!"

"But I do!" Remus told her helplessly as he was packing. "I can't be anywhere near here when the full moon comes. What about Nymphadora?"

Upon hearing her name, Nymphadora stopped just outside the room, so as to better hear the conversation.

"We'll send her to a friend's house for the night," Andromeda told him. "You have to stay here. You are in no condition to be alone. Nor should you be alone this close to the full moon. This is the first one without them, isn't it?"

Full moon? Nymphadora made the connection almost instantly, but she couldn't believe it. There was no way Remus was a werewolf!

"I can't be near here when the full moon comes," Remus said firmly. "It's too dangerous."

"It's not!" Nymphadora shouted, forgetting she was supposed to be hiding. She threw her arms around him. "Please don't go."

"Dora!" Andromeda cried, shocked. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that Remus should never, ever leave," she said decisively.


End file.
